Lubbock woman's creativity flows through pumpkins

She likes them, of course. But by the time Halloween finally rolls around, she's seen and touched enough pumpkin to last for quite a while.

Goodwin is an artist, but her medium isn't paint or canvas. Instead, she uses a set of tiny picks and knives to create her carved art on the orange orbs. The subjects she chooses are fairly traditional holiday scenes: witches, cats, ghosts, monsters, devils and haunted houses.

But Goodwin is not limited to those. She's done logos from local companies and other designs as requested. Her current stock is up to 78 designs.

And though it may seem an intricate art form, Goodwin downplays her talent.

''It's really pretty easy,'' she said. ''A lot of people just don't have the time or patience.''

Goodwin started the hobby-turned-business-venture six years ago out of boredom, she said. While browsing at a grocery store, she came across a basic pumpkin carving kit with one design and decided to try her hand.

''My first design was a house with bats and a moon,'' she recalled. ''I chopped off all the branches of the tree ... it was bad.

''But just like anything else, it takes practice.''

Years later, Goodwin is fairly proficient at even the hardest design, which she believes is a dog with "Happy Halloween" written in its teeth. That task can take more than three hours, more if she takes a break.

Goodwin said breaks are a must with her unusual business. Sometimes, she said, just looking at the orange gourds for so long will cause her eyes to cross, and she's got to set the unfinished pumpkin aside and catch a TV program or rest.

But the respite isn't long. As of today, she's carved more than 100 pumpkins this year, sometimes several for one business to keep the decoration going throughout the holiday season. Though Goodwin coats the pumpkins with a sealer and spreads petroleum jelly on the insides to preserve the moisture, the art pieces still only last a week to 10 days.

Goodwin makes her money mostly on volume. Because of what she called a great deal on pumpkins she got from the Assiter Punkin Ranch in Floydada, she is able to charge a minimal fee for the carved pieces: $8 for a medium-size pumpkin up to $12 for an extra-large one.

Goodwin has one son, Jerry Glenn Mitchell, a second grader.

She said she loves carving because each job is different.

''Every pumpkin has its own personality,'' she said. ''You can put any design on it, but it looks different on every one.''

And what about mistakes? Like paint on canvas, one wrong move can mean starting over from scratch for a pumpkin carver.

''I've had to start over several times,'' she said. ''It's pretty frustrating. And, of course, you never break it at the first.''

Goodwin said she'll rest for about a week or two before picking up her knives again for Thanksgiving orders.

Teresa Cox Young can be contacted at tyoung@lubbockonline.com or 766-8745.